Just Like Him
by Psyga315
Summary: It was a few moments after they had just left Argus. Despite the victory they had, most of them felt terrible that it may come at the price of Argus. Though it's Blake and Jaune who felt incredibly horrible as they recall their actions and feel as though they've become the people they hated most, all while those closest to them try to help them cope with the events that transpired.
1. Blake

As the airship sailed, Blake looked over to the smoke looming over Argus. As much as everyone hated to admit it, there seemed to be no way for the Atlesian military to quell all those Grimm. Even _if_ it was a success, they'd have some pretty heavy damages. With no means to check on the status of Argus, the group can only _pray_ that Argus only suffers light casualties.

While it dwelled in the back of everyone's mind, Blake was thinking of something else…

Or rather, some_one_ else…

Yang had been keeping an eye on Blake, to the point where Weiss and Ruby begun whispering about them possibly in a relationship. She didn't care, not at this moment, at least.

It was hard to have a heart-to-heart with Blake when there's no room to go to, but she didn't want to outright talk about what happened in front of everyone. Yang briefly mused about it. Perhaps by saying that the only reason they ended up fighting Cordovin was because of Adam, they could stop beating themselves up and easily blame him for the situation at Argus…

That said, it would also mean blaming _Blake_… At least in _Blake's_ mind. No doubt everyone else wouldn't be mad at Blake, but Yang knew better. As much as Yang hated her for it, Blake was always a bit of a drama queen, even more so than Weiss. That was the reason she ran away both times. She overdramatized her plights, believing that her friends would never understand her pain.

And yet, compared to her own mother, who decided that murdering people in the name of power and survival of the fittest was more important than raising her own daughter and even helping to save the world, Blake had the better reasoning, something that helped her ease the pain of her running away when she lost her arm… Even if Blake still seemed upset over that.

Though, she thought about Raven… More importantly, what she truly was… And how she kept it from everyone. She looked out to the city, now a blur of smoke, Grimm, and Mantas, and frowned. The reason they went through all this trouble was to stuff the Relic into Atlas… and yet, Yang had the gut feeling that, if she only just told Raven to simply lock the Vault instead, they wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.

She looked over to Weiss and Ruby. No doubt they have heavy regrets too. Jaune and Oscar especially. Even though the two had made up, they were at opposite sides of the plane. While she wanted to know what was in Jaune and Oscar's heads, she knew Weiss and Ruby all too well.

Weiss, for as much as she expressed her chagrin to returning to Atlas, possibly considered that being the solution all along, even if it meant returning to her abusive father. Ruby was one Yang _definitely_ knew. This wasn't the first time Ruby's attempt at playing the hero ended horribly. She knew that much when she was recovering after the Fall of Beacon. However, this was completely different.

Ruby had been the one who okayed Jaune's plan and spearheaded the operation. If any one person here felt like they were responsible for Argus, Ruby would be the one. Weiss may have not wanted to take the easy but emotionally straining solution that prompted the theft and Blake's unfinished business with Adam may have delayed the operation long enough to escalate to a Grimm invasion, but Ruby was the one who went with all of that. As much as Yang wanted to comfort Ruby, she knew it'd be better to comfort Blake.

Thankfully, there was an option for a discreet conversation. A rather ingenious feature in the Scrolls that allows for communication between linked Scrolls, even when communications are down. It's how they were able to keep track of each other's auras. She opened up the messaging app and got to typing.

"Hey…" Yang asked Blake. She was gonna lead with something light, like: 'Never got what that dude's beef was with you', but realized that this wasn't the time for jokes. Instead, she went: "Still troubled about that fight?" She looked over to Blake, who got the message, looked to Yang, then typed back.

"Yeah… I'm just… I'm still thinking about it…" Blake said.

"I know… But he couldn't be reasoned with." Yang replied.

"So what? We put him down? Like some kind of animal!?" As Blake replied that, Ruby began to notice tears in Blake's eyes.

"He was a _monster_. He helped orchestrate the Fall of Beacon, killed hundreds, if not _thousands_, and wanted to kill _you_." Ruby also noticed Yang's eyes turn red.

"Was he? If I had only reached out to him…"

"Don't. Don't ever think that you could have changed things. You know full well that he couldn't. Isn't that why you ran from him?" Despite the red eyes, Yang wasn't typing furiously.

"… Yeah." As Blake wrote that, Yang sighed and followed up with another question.

"This… isn't really about being with Adam, is it? If you knew he wouldn't change, why feel like you staying with him would have helped him?" Yang asked.

"Because… It was better than knowing that I was the person who killed him." As Blake said that, the two stayed silent. Yang looked across the plane and saw Ruby looking at them. Though, she never said a word and it felt as though she won't for a while. "I'm a murderer, Yang. I killed him." Yang looked back to her Scroll and responded.

"No. You defended yourself. He wouldn't stop no matter what. It was now or never."

"But he was defenseless! He had no aura, no weapon, he couldn't-"

"He tried to get _your_ weapon, Blake. And if he was smart enough, he would have fired at us when he had the chance. We were _lucky_." Yang said.

"But… why kill him?" Blake muttered.

"… It was in the heat of the moment, Blake. It was us or him." Yang said.

"I'm sure if we had a few more moments, we would have simply beaten him and let the authorities handle the rest!" Blake paused, then typed out. "There was another point, one where I could have stopped him. Back at Haven. He ran away and… Looking back, I should have done what Sun suggested and chased him down. If he was arrested, he wouldn't have gone to Argus and…" In the middle of typing the next part of her text, Yang shot the reply.

"He would have broken out or evaded the cops or even put _you_ in a worse spot. What you did was enough." Yang said.

"Was it? Was it really enough? I should have realized Adam was following me from the beginning! He… he was on that train, Yang! Oh Gods… He could have slaughtered Jaune, Nora and Ren! Or even countless other civilians! He was in Argus, Yang! He could have killed us all if he had the chance! All because I was stupid enough to let him run!" Blake couldn't even hold back tears. Yang merely put her metallic hand on Blake's head and stroked her curly black hair.

"But he didn't. And we should be lucky… Look, it's over now. Adam won't hurt us anymore." Yang whispered.

"… Is it? Did you even _see_ his face? Do you know where we're going? Adam wasn't a monster. He was a victim of something greater… Killing him didn't end the violence against Faunus. There's a chance it's still happening there. And then there's all those Faunus we threw off the train…" Blake couldn't even keep her voice at a low level. "They wanted to be equals…"

"They wanted to overrun Vale with Grimm!" Yang interjected.

"We just did the same thing with Argus!" Blake said.

"_We_ weren't trying to destroy Argus!"

"Can you _stop _trying to justify our crimes!? You're sounding like Adam!" Blake shouted. Everyone on the plane save for Maria looked to the two. Blake's eyes watered and, suddenly, she cried. "We're just like him! Nothing but liars… thieves… murderers!" She rested on Yang's shoulder as Yang held onto her tightly.

"Blake… If you didn't kill him, I would have. And I would do it all over again." Yang wasn't sure why she felt confident in that. Perhaps she inherited part of her mother's ruthlessness?

"Why? Why would you?" Blake asked.

"Because… I feel like the world would be better off." Yang bit her lip as she remembered her mother's justification to murdering a girl for her Maiden powers…

"_It was mercy!_"

"And you think Adam didn't think that same way? He forced our hand but the same could be said for him. He _had_ a reason to hate humans, and that hate turned to spite…" Blake frowned.

"And yet you never felt like mentioning that to Weiss?" Yang shot a question in the dark as Blake's frown turned to a scowl. "When you were trying to defend the White Fang, you could have brought up his scarring, but you didn't. Because deep down, you realized that was no excuse for the violence he committed, right?" As Yang asked that, Blake's face lost all rage and regained its sorrow.

"… Yeah…" Blake said.

"So why beat yourself up over this?" Yang asked.

"Because… If I had simply beaten him, we wouldn't be in this mess…" Blake said. Yang thought back to the reason why they had to go to Atlas in the first place… she then mumbled.

"If anything… _I'm_ the one that got us in this mess…" Blake perked up and looked at her.

"W-what do you mean?" Blake asked.

"… Nothing. Just feeling tired from the fight…" Yang didn't want to answer. If only because she didn't want to admit to herself that, like Ozpin, she resorted to hiding the truth from her allies… "We should get some rest. It's gonna be a long trip." Blake hesitantly nodded as she rested on Yang's shoulder. Yang took a while to ponder… As much as she wanted to deny it, there was no easy way to help Blake with her situation. No matter what she would say, Blake will just counter with some sort of self-loathing line. Was it better to let the situation cool down until Blake was more emotionally stable to rationalize Adam's death? Perhaps.

Blake was right about one thing, though. Adam was also a victim of abuse and they were flying right over to the Kingdom where his abuser lives. Killing Adam wouldn't put an end to the discrimination. The question she had in her mind when she fell asleep was a simple one:

What _will_ end the discrimination?


	2. Jaune

Jaune couldn't sleep. Not while the smoke billowing from Argus was still within their rear-view mirror. Not while he could imagine the screams of terror that would be the last things he'd hear from his sister and her family. Not while people are suffering… All because of him.

All because of him and his stupid idea. It wasn't even a _good_ one! He wanted _someone_ to talk him out of it, to suggest a better alternative. To poke holes in the problem and have it deflate. He warned them about how it was a "no-going-back" sort of plan and that he hadn't figured out the kinks. That should have been warning enough that they need to think of something better. Even _Qrow_, someone he doesn't like for being the drunken yes-man to Ozpin, was saying how bad it is.

But then _Ruby_ decided to interject and encourage his crazy scheme. As much as he liked Ruby's optimism in the face of despair, it borders on naivety, especially when she arrogantly claimed that the only reason they're here in the first place was because they didn't need an adult to save them or tell them what to do.

All while ignoring the fact that she's talking to the person who saved her from Tyrian _and_ that they're still following the orders of Ozpin.

And like that, Jaune was forced to plan, plan, and even counter plan. An idea that was meant to be so asinine that it would encourage the others to think of something better… And it's the one everyone took as their only plan. Even the Cotta-Arcs agreed with it. His own sister thought his plan was ingenious. Although Ruby took the reins and made that plan hers, it was _Jaune_ who planted the seed. If anyone should be taking the blame for the events of Argus, it should be him.

To him, this was just another footnote of why everyone would be better off without him. He caused the attack at Argus. He failed to kill Cinder when she was at her most vulnerable and almost got Weiss killed as a result. But worst of all, he felt as though _he_ was responsible for Pyrrha's death in more ways than one.

Even though his friends talked him out of his darker thoughts, the guilt he had still lingered. It made him think of the person who put her in that situation in the first place…

But worst of all… It made Jaune think of how _he_ would have handled the Argus situation… and how it wouldn't have been any different to how it transpired.

This was a man who decided that it wasn't worth telling people that the Relic also attracted Grimm, who decided to walk into what was blatantly a trap with no means of back up, who decided to put the fate of Beacon… No… The entire _world_, on a bunch of overbearing and overemotional teenagers. It wouldn't be out of place for Ozpin to put another town on the line just to get from point A to point B.

That's when he looked to Oscar. While he took back what he said about Oscar being "the liar", he didn't take back the fact that he considered _Ozpin_ a liar or even a bad guy. He still had anger towards the man who helped end Pyrrha's life and the recent troubles had only solidified his hatred. Not to the degree of that big hulking dude back at Haven, but enough for him to lose any and all faith in him.

But there was another problem. One that Oscar took notice of. Some time after Blake began to shout about some guy named Adam and how she was a horrible person for killing him, Oscar went over to Jaune's side.

"You okay?" Oscar asked Jaune.

"… What do _you_ think?" Jaune looked away.

"Look, I might now have the knowledge of those who came before me, but I only had that for about two to three months. Even _then_, I just found out more than what I wanted to know. So, please, if there's any baggage about Ozpin you have, then let me know. I'm going to _be_ him soon, so you might as well lay it on me as though I am. I'm not going to be scared this time." Oscar said. Jaune looked to Oscar and yet… He couldn't find the right words to say. He didn't want a repeat of what happened at the house, especially considering Saphron gave him shit for the damage he caused on the wall.

He decided to lay it straight.

"If you're thinking I'm mad at Ozpin… I'm not. At least, not right now." Jaune said.

"So, who _are_ you mad at?" Oscar asked.

"Myself." Jaune sighed. He could see Ren across the room shaking his head, only for Nora to put a hand on his lap and giving him a comforting nod. "I warned everyone about how the mech was only meant to fight big threats, but everyone just fired at it like _it_ was the major threat."

"… It _was_." Oscar said.

"Not what I mean. Like… We never asked ourselves what'd happen after we destroyed the Colossus. I mean, we had a Grimm-attracting Relic, for Pumpkin Pete's sake! It didn't help matters that we decided to make a huge fight with them within view of the entire town! We've caused enough panic in Argus to make a second Breach!" As Jaune groaned, Oscar took a moment and asked.

"Erm, breach?" Oscar asked.

"It's what we like to call that one time a bunch of Grimm attacked Vale but it ended in us pushing them back." Ruby interjected.

"Ah… So… Things might not be so different in Argus!" Despite saying that, he noticed Jaune didn't grin.

"Yeah, but that's because we had a bunch of Huntsmen and Military show up and clean up the mess. We heavily crippled one of Argus's major defenses and only killed _one_ Grimm. It's a large one, sure, but it doesn't amount to the swarm of Grimm that were flying in. And then there's the continued string of panic. Face it, Oscar. We doomed Argus. Everyone there will die." As Jaune said that, Ruby walked over.

"Don't say that! They'll be fine." Ruby said.

"WILL THEY!?" Jaune shouted. "Tell me, why were we treating Cordovin like she was the bad guy?"

"Well, she _was_ mean…" Ruby said.

"What if we were someone like Roman?" Ruby backed away as Jaune said that. She hadn't heard that name in a _long_ time. "Different story, right?"

"You mean that criminal? Wasn't he trying to cause a bunch of terrorist attacks with the White Fang?" Oscar asked.

"You say that like we're any different. Roman stole tech, _we_ stole tech. Roman caused Grimm to attack, _we_ caused Grimm to attack. Suddenly we're not so different, right?" Jaune asked. Ruby glared at him.

"We were trying to get to Atlas and secure the Relic." Ruby said.

"_That's_ what separates us from Roman? Because we viewed Argus as a stepping stone for something else? We committed treason, Ruby! You're telling me that it's 'for the greater good' or whatever? Isn't that what Ozpin insisted whenever _he_ wants to justify the crap he does!? Isn't the entire reason we put Argus in peril because we were following his instructions? What the hell do we do _after_ we put the Relic in Atlas… _If_ we put the Relic in Atlas?" Jaune asked. Ruby became silent.

"Well… I…" Jaune scoffed.

"Figured. We have no aim other than to step over people in order to get our way. We're just like Ozpin." Jaune said. He sighed and looked outside. The smoke that came from Argus was nothing more than a cloud now. He wanted to change the topic, as he knew that Ruby wouldn't be happy with what he was saying. "… I should have stayed at Argus to help fight the Grimm." As Jaune said that, it caused Ren and Nora to take notice and come over to him.

"What? What are you saying?" Nora asked.

"It's my fault that Argus is being attacked. I should have stayed behind to atone for that." He said.

"But… all those Grimm… There'd be no way you'd survive…" Ren muttered.

"And yet, it feels right. If I could save the people of Argus, even just a few, then I'd fight to my last brea-" Ren slapped Jaune soon after.

"Jaune! This. Has. To. Stop." Ruby rarely saw Ren this angry. The only other time was back at Kuroyuri. "Your life isn't something to throw away."

"And what? Pyrrha's life _was_?" The group froze in silence. Oscar felt the tension rise and saw fit to stay behind Nora. "You know what sickens me? The fact that we all view Pyrrha's death as something noble or something to be proud of. We should treat it as what it _really_ is: suicide. Though, it doesn't sound like a word that should be glorified, right? Yet, we do it anyways, masking it as 'fighting a battle she knew she couldn't win'. However, if someone _else_ decides to jump in and try to fight to the bitter end, _then_ we start becoming concerned. _Then_ we start calling it suicide." Despite the anger in his voice, he was _far_ from angry. Afterwards, he began to break down into tears. Ren and Nora comforted Jaune while Oscar went to Ruby.

"He brings a good point. As soon as we finish up in Atlas, unless the situation calls for us to be somewhere else, we should check back with Argus and atone, if we're not punished in Atlas." Oscar said. Ruby, however, couldn't find an answer. Her only hope was that Jaune forgot about this tirade… But deep down, she knew full well that he'll never let go of the pain in his heart. The anger he has towards Ozpin _and_ himself for not only what transpired at Beacon, but also Haven and now Argus.

The most she can do now is hope it doesn't become a factor in Atlas. She went back and rested for a bit. After this, it seemed _everyone_ needed the rest. About an hour later, Maria managed to wake up Ruby with a rather reassuring line…

"We should have just enough fuel to make it." Ruby went to the cockpit to thank her as the others began to wake up as well.

The only thing in Ruby's mind now was to make sure they accomplish their mission at Atlas… It was probably the thing most of the people in the airship had thought.

And yet, the things in both Blake and Jaune's heads heavily occupied their mind. Both of them were the same, and yet different in context…

"We're just like him…"


End file.
